March 14, 2005
No. 6 BRYANT (22-8) vs. No. 1 BENTLEY College (30-5)
NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championship
Tuesda, March 15, 2005, 7 p.m.
Dana Center / Waltham, Mass.
THE GAME
The Bryant men’s basketball team returns to the NCAA Regional
Championship game for the second year in-a-row when the Bulldogs take on the top seed of the regional tournament, Bentley College (30-5) at
the Dana Center. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite
Eight in Grand Forks, N.D. March 23-26. Bryant is the No. 6 seed of
the regional and Bentley is the No. 1 seed.
BULLDOG TIDBITS
Only four schools in Division II have reached the Sweet Sixteen
(Regional Final) in the last two NCAA tournaments: Bryant, Metro
State (North Central), Montevallo (South), Alaska Fairbanks (West).
Bryant is just one of four schools in Division II to reach the NCAA
Sweet Sixteen in the past two years out of 280 Division II
institutions.
UPSET ‘DOGS SECOND LOWEST SEED REMAINING IN TOURNAMENT
Bryant, the No. 6 seed of the Northeast Regional, is the second-lowest
seed remaining among the 16 teams left in the NCAA Division II
tournament. Tarleton State (South) is still alive as the No. 7 seed of
that regional. Last year, Bryant was the No. 7 seed and advance to
the regional with wins over C.W. Post and NYIT before falling to top-
seed and host UMass Lowell, 64-63 on Elad Inbar’s baseline basket with
four seconds left.
JOHN WILLIAMS LIGHTS UP THE SCOREBOARD FROM THE OUTSIDE
Bryant point guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.), an NCAA All-
Region selection and first team all-conference pick, upped his scoring
average to 20.4 ppg with 23 points vs. Adelphi and 28 points vs.
Bloomfield on Sunday. Williams, who surpassed the 1,000 point mark in
the quarters vs. Adelphi, has 1,036 career points in just 68 games
played. Williams has 194 career three-point field goals (school
record 105 this season). The all-time career record for threes in a
career is 295 held by Jason Bennett.
MIKE WILLIAMS CONTROLLING THINGS FROM THE INSIDE
Senior center Mike Williams has used his 6-foot, 11-inch frame to help
control things from the inside during this year’s tournament. In two
games, Mike Williams has 27 rebounds and 13 blocked shots. The
Ellington, CT native had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the team’s win
over Bloomfield Sunday and had 15 rebounds and 7 blocks vs. Adelphi in
the opener. Williams will graduate with his name all-over the record
books at Bryant:
Points 1,242 (13th)
Rebounds 956 (3rd)
Blocks 288 (1st)
BULLDOGS ROLL PAST BLOOMFIELD IN SEMIFINALS
Bryant again rode the backs of John Williams and Mike Williams in
Sunday’s 76-59 win over Bloomfield as the Bulldogs led 8-0 from the
start and used three-straight deep three-pointers from John Williams
to take control early and never look back. John Williams had 19 first
half points enroute to a game-high 28. Mike Williams scored 12 points
plus added 12 rebounds and had six blocked shots. The Bulldogs shot
44.4 percent and made 11 of 15 free throws in the game. John Williams
and Chris Burns combined to make seven of Bryant’s nine three-pointers
in the game.
BULLDOGS KNOCK OFF ADELPHI IN OPENING ROUND SATURDAY
John Williams scored 23 points including the 1,000th of his career to
help lead the Bryant men’s basketball team to a 69-48 upset of third-
seeded Adelphi on Saturday. Bryant, the sixth-seed, got a strong
performance from Williams who had 17 points in the first half
including four three’s to give him 100 three’s on the season (school
record). Mike Williams dominated the inside with 15 rebounds and
seven blocked shots while Chris Burns and Mario Correia each had 13.
Bryant led 36-29 at half and outscored Adelphi 14-6 with John Williams
on the bench with four fouls.
BRYANT VS. BENTLEY
This will be the third meeting this season between Bryant and Bentley - two of the top Business Schools in the Northeast - with the Falcons winning both regular season meetings. Bentley won 76-
69 in Smithfield, RI back on Jan. 6 as Sean Cooke had 20 points
including four 3-pointers. Bentley was ranked No. 9 at the time and
snapped Bryant’s five-game win streak. Bryant led at the half 37-36,
but the Falcons broke a 69-69 tie with a 7-0 run to win going away. In
the second meeting at the Dana Center, fifth-ranked Bentley got 23
points from Greg Lacasse and 21 from Cook to win 81-73. Johns
Williams had 21 points including three 3-point field goals in the
game.
1000 POINTS + 100 THREE’S = REGIONAL ALL-AMERICAN
Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) hit a few milestones
in Saturday’s NCAA win over Adelphi. Williams recorded hit 1,000th
career point in three seasons (1,036 total) and also recorded his
100th three-pointer of the season with four against the Panthers.
Williams broke the school record for three’s in a season (previously
86 by Romuald Augustin last year). On Thursday, Williams was named
FIRST TEAM REGIONAL ALL-AMERICAN by Daktronics.
BRYANT IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Last year, Bryant returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time
in 23 years and advanced as far as the NCAA Regional Final before
falling to host and top-seeded UMass Lowell in the final seconds.
Bryant, seeded seventh, won for the first time in NCAA postseason play
with a 65-63 upset win over second-seeded C.W. Post in the first
round. The Bulldogs would defeat NYIT in the semifinals, 64-60 before
falling to Lowell 63-62.
ALL-CONFERENCE
Bryant's John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) and Mario Correia
(Brockton, Mass.) were named to the 2004-05 Northeast-10 All-
Conference Men's Basketball team, the league announced Thursday
evening. Senior center Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) was named the
Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He is the first
Bryant player honored with the award since the Northeast-10 began
sponsoring the award in 1992-93. He finished the regular season among
the conference leaders in rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocked shots,
and field goal shooting. John Williams, second in the conference in
scoring with 20.1 points per game, set a school record this season
with 96 three-point field goals and is currently ranked in the top-10
in eight conference statistical categories including steals (fifth)
and assist to turnover ratio (fourth). Williams is also ranked 11th
nationally with 3.56 three-point field goals per game. Correia has
enjoyed a very successful senior season for the Bulldogs. The swing
guard is currently second on the team with 13.5 points per game and
closed out the final seven games of the regular-season averaging 20.1
points per game.
WILLIAMS NAMED NE-10 PLAYER OF WEEK; SCORES 37 IN CONFERENCE QUARTERS
Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) put on a show in the
team’s 81-79 overtime loss to Saint Anselm in the NE-10 quarterfinals.
The junior scored 37 points and had seven three’s in the game
including one from 25 feet out before halftime and a baseline three
with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. With 100
three’s this season, Williams broke Romuald Augustin’s (2003-04)
school single season record of 87 three’s set last season. Williams
was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week prior to the game; the
second Bulldog to earn the honor (see below).
CORREIA EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Senior guard Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) - pictured - was named
the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 14, the first
such honor for a Bryant basketball player this season. Correia had a
career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the team’s win over No. 24
Saint Anselm on Saturday. He had 21 points plus eight rebounds in the
team’s win at Le Moyne on Tuesday night. For the week, Correia
averaged 24.5 ppg on 20 of 40 shooting in two games, made 6 of 11
three-point attempts. In Wednesday’s game at Saint Michael’s, Correia
had 22 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
BACK TO BACK SUCCESS
In the past two seasons, Bryant has 45 total wins (23 in ‘03-04 and 22
this season). It marks the most wins in back-to-back seasons in
school history. Bryant posted three consecutive 20 win seasons in the
early seventies. The 1972-73 team went 20-6 and a year later went 20-
8. The following season (1974-75) Bryant went 21-8. A win over
Bentley on Tuesday would tie last years school record of 23 wins in a
season. With 22 this year, Bryant has tied the 1966-67 squad for wins
in a season.
BULLDOG BITES
Tuesday’s game vs. Bentley will be the 119th game coached by Max Good
at Bryant. It will also be Good’s 366th as a head coach in 13
seasons ... Bryant has averaged 17 wins a season during the past four
seasons under Good.
Bulldogs Take on Falcons For NCAA Regional Title
BULLDOGS BATTLE FALCONS FOR REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TUESDAYNo. 6 BRYANT (22-8) vs. No. 1 BENTLEY College (30-5)
NCAA Division II Northeast Regional Championship
Tuesda, March 15, 2005, 7 p.m.
Dana Center / Waltham, Mass.
THE GAMEThe Bryant men’s basketball team returns to the NCAA Regional
Championship game for the second year in-a-row when the Bulldogs take on the top seed of the regional tournament, Bentley College (30-5) at
the Dana Center. The winner will advance to the NCAA Division II Elite
Eight in Grand Forks, N.D. March 23-26. Bryant is the No. 6 seed of
the regional and Bentley is the No. 1 seed.
BULLDOG TIDBITS
Only four schools in Division II have reached the Sweet Sixteen
(Regional Final) in the last two NCAA tournaments: Bryant, Metro
State (North Central), Montevallo (South), Alaska Fairbanks (West).
Bryant is just one of four schools in Division II to reach the NCAA
Sweet Sixteen in the past two years out of 280 Division II
institutions.
UPSET ‘DOGS SECOND LOWEST SEED REMAINING IN TOURNAMENT
Bryant, the No. 6 seed of the Northeast Regional, is the second-lowest
seed remaining among the 16 teams left in the NCAA Division II
tournament. Tarleton State (South) is still alive as the No. 7 seed of
that regional. Last year, Bryant was the No. 7 seed and advance to
the regional with wins over C.W. Post and NYIT before falling to top-
seed and host UMass Lowell, 64-63 on Elad Inbar’s baseline basket with
four seconds left.
JOHN WILLIAMS LIGHTS UP THE SCOREBOARD FROM THE OUTSIDE
Bryant point guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.), an NCAA All-
Region selection and first team all-conference pick, upped his scoring
average to 20.4 ppg with 23 points vs. Adelphi and 28 points vs.
Bloomfield on Sunday. Williams, who surpassed the 1,000 point mark in
the quarters vs. Adelphi, has 1,036 career points in just 68 games
played. Williams has 194 career three-point field goals (school
record 105 this season). The all-time career record for threes in a
career is 295 held by Jason Bennett.
MIKE WILLIAMS CONTROLLING THINGS FROM THE INSIDE
Senior center Mike Williams has used his 6-foot, 11-inch frame to help
control things from the inside during this year’s tournament. In two
games, Mike Williams has 27 rebounds and 13 blocked shots. The
Ellington, CT native had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the team’s win
over Bloomfield Sunday and had 15 rebounds and 7 blocks vs. Adelphi in
the opener. Williams will graduate with his name all-over the record
books at Bryant:
Points 1,242 (13th)
Rebounds 956 (3rd)
Blocks 288 (1st)
BULLDOGS ROLL PAST BLOOMFIELD IN SEMIFINALS
Bryant again rode the backs of John Williams and Mike Williams in
Sunday’s 76-59 win over Bloomfield as the Bulldogs led 8-0 from the
start and used three-straight deep three-pointers from John Williams
to take control early and never look back. John Williams had 19 first
half points enroute to a game-high 28. Mike Williams scored 12 points
plus added 12 rebounds and had six blocked shots. The Bulldogs shot
44.4 percent and made 11 of 15 free throws in the game. John Williams
and Chris Burns combined to make seven of Bryant’s nine three-pointers
in the game.
BULLDOGS KNOCK OFF ADELPHI IN OPENING ROUND SATURDAY
John Williams scored 23 points including the 1,000th of his career to
help lead the Bryant men’s basketball team to a 69-48 upset of third-
seeded Adelphi on Saturday. Bryant, the sixth-seed, got a strong
performance from Williams who had 17 points in the first half
including four three’s to give him 100 three’s on the season (school
record). Mike Williams dominated the inside with 15 rebounds and
seven blocked shots while Chris Burns and Mario Correia each had 13.
Bryant led 36-29 at half and outscored Adelphi 14-6 with John Williams
on the bench with four fouls.
BRYANT VS. BENTLEY
This will be the third meeting this season between Bryant and Bentley - two of the top Business Schools in the Northeast - with the Falcons winning both regular season meetings. Bentley won 76-
69 in Smithfield, RI back on Jan. 6 as Sean Cooke had 20 points
including four 3-pointers. Bentley was ranked No. 9 at the time and
snapped Bryant’s five-game win streak. Bryant led at the half 37-36,
but the Falcons broke a 69-69 tie with a 7-0 run to win going away. In
the second meeting at the Dana Center, fifth-ranked Bentley got 23
points from Greg Lacasse and 21 from Cook to win 81-73. Johns
Williams had 21 points including three 3-point field goals in the
game.
1000 POINTS + 100 THREE’S = REGIONAL ALL-AMERICAN
Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) hit a few milestones
in Saturday’s NCAA win over Adelphi. Williams recorded hit 1,000th
career point in three seasons (1,036 total) and also recorded his
100th three-pointer of the season with four against the Panthers.
Williams broke the school record for three’s in a season (previously
86 by Romuald Augustin last year). On Thursday, Williams was named
FIRST TEAM REGIONAL ALL-AMERICAN by Daktronics.
BRYANT IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
Last year, Bryant returned to the NCAA tournament for the first time
in 23 years and advanced as far as the NCAA Regional Final before
falling to host and top-seeded UMass Lowell in the final seconds.
Bryant, seeded seventh, won for the first time in NCAA postseason play
with a 65-63 upset win over second-seeded C.W. Post in the first
round. The Bulldogs would defeat NYIT in the semifinals, 64-60 before
falling to Lowell 63-62.
ALL-CONFERENCE
Bryant's John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) and Mario Correia
(Brockton, Mass.) were named to the 2004-05 Northeast-10 All-
Conference Men's Basketball team, the league announced Thursday
evening. Senior center Mike Williams (Ellington, Conn.) was named the
Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year. He is the first
Bryant player honored with the award since the Northeast-10 began
sponsoring the award in 1992-93. He finished the regular season among
the conference leaders in rebounds, defensive rebounds, blocked shots,
and field goal shooting. John Williams, second in the conference in
scoring with 20.1 points per game, set a school record this season
with 96 three-point field goals and is currently ranked in the top-10
in eight conference statistical categories including steals (fifth)
and assist to turnover ratio (fourth). Williams is also ranked 11th
nationally with 3.56 three-point field goals per game. Correia has
enjoyed a very successful senior season for the Bulldogs. The swing
guard is currently second on the team with 13.5 points per game and
closed out the final seven games of the regular-season averaging 20.1
points per game.
WILLIAMS NAMED NE-10 PLAYER OF WEEK; SCORES 37 IN CONFERENCE QUARTERS
Junior guard John Williams (Springfield, Mass.) put on a show in the
team’s 81-79 overtime loss to Saint Anselm in the NE-10 quarterfinals.
The junior scored 37 points and had seven three’s in the game
including one from 25 feet out before halftime and a baseline three
with 2.2 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. With 100
three’s this season, Williams broke Romuald Augustin’s (2003-04)
school single season record of 87 three’s set last season. Williams
was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Week prior to the game; the
second Bulldog to earn the honor (see below).
CORREIA EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Senior guard Mario Correia (Brockton, Mass.) - pictured - was named
the Northeast-10 Conference Player of the Week for Feb. 14, the first
such honor for a Bryant basketball player this season. Correia had a
career-high 28 points and eight rebounds in the team’s win over No. 24
Saint Anselm on Saturday. He had 21 points plus eight rebounds in the
team’s win at Le Moyne on Tuesday night. For the week, Correia
averaged 24.5 ppg on 20 of 40 shooting in two games, made 6 of 11
three-point attempts. In Wednesday’s game at Saint Michael’s, Correia
had 22 points, 6 assists, and 5 steals.
BACK TO BACK SUCCESS
In the past two seasons, Bryant has 45 total wins (23 in ‘03-04 and 22
this season). It marks the most wins in back-to-back seasons in
school history. Bryant posted three consecutive 20 win seasons in the
early seventies. The 1972-73 team went 20-6 and a year later went 20-
8. The following season (1974-75) Bryant went 21-8. A win over
Bentley on Tuesday would tie last years school record of 23 wins in a
season. With 22 this year, Bryant has tied the 1966-67 squad for wins
in a season.
BULLDOG BITES
Tuesday’s game vs. Bentley will be the 119th game coached by Max Good
at Bryant. It will also be Good’s 366th as a head coach in 13
seasons ... Bryant has averaged 17 wins a season during the past four
seasons under Good.
